


Gloom Boy

by underscorekris



Category: The Walking Dead (TV), Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Walking Dead Fusion, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, M/M, Slow Burn, tbh not sure if the gawsten in this will be romantic or platonic we'll just have to wait and see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22595248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underscorekris/pseuds/underscorekris
Summary: the one where its the world of the walking dead and the parx boys get mixed in with the wrong group~most of the main story will take place around seasons 7 8 and 9 of twd once we get there~
Relationships: Awsten Knight/Geoff Wigington
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this chapter is meant to take place around when the events of season 4 of twd is happening, just so you can get a good idea of the timeline

(Awsten's POV)

I watch as the walker falls to the ground, blood seeping from its head wound. I rub my bloodied hands on my black jeans, breathing heavily as I do so. I hate killing them. I hate it. These monsters used to be people, they used to have families, and jobs, and Sunday night dinners. Now its all gone. Hesitantly, I crouch down, my weight resting on my knee. I reach forward to check its pockets and bag for weapons and food. The only thing I found is a stale bag of chips and a hunting knife in his back pocket. I take one long final look at the dead man before standing up and beginning to walk along the railroad once again, leaving him behind.

I've been on my own for a long time now, ever since I lost my family and best friend all those months ago. It feels like they've been gone longer then they have been. I've had few run-ins with other people since then, though none of them have been very nice. I've never been able to kill anyone though, not even the person that shot my best friend. I'm weak, and that's why I shouldn't be alone. I used to be worse then this though, I used to be afraid of everything. I was completely incapable of living on my own. That was a long time ago. I'm a stronger person now.

I take in a long breath, ripping open the bag of chips and popping one into my mouth. I finish the chips after a few minutes, tossing the bag to the ground. That was the first time I've eaten since yesterday, and my stomach is still growling. I look down, fiddling with a string on my backpack as I inspect my stomach. I'm bound to have lost at least ten pounds since this whole thing happened.

The beaming sun is burning my forehead, and it feels like its slowly melting me. I reach back, taking my cap from my bag and plopping it on my head. There, much better.

I have learned over these last few months that, when your all alone, things get boring. Sometimes I will hum to myself or kick rocks around as I'm walking. Nothing compares to conversations with people though, and man, do I miss those conversations. I would give anything to have have another friend right now, just to simply have someone to talk to again. I feel like I'm slowly going insane from the loneliness.

I sigh heavily, my breathe burdened with all of my troubles. I'm not sure where I'm heading, I just know I need to get away from where I was. Houston had too many people for me to like in the beginning, now that its filled with dead people I like it even less. I never really had many friends there anyway. The only people I was ever close to was my family and my best friend, Denis. But they're gone now, and I have nothing left there for me but a bunch of depressing memories.

I've been walking on the tracks since late this morning, and soon the sun will be setting behind the trees and calling it a day. I wish something would happen, whether it be good or bad, anything would do. This is one of the worst days I've had in a while. Usually by now I would have went through some houses and maybe killed a few walkers, but not one thing has happened all day. Its been constant silence and loneliness all day.

As if the world was listening to my thoughts, I see an abandoned car up ahead, pulled to the side of the tracks. My heart beat picks up and it takes everything in me to not take off running towards it with excitement. Please, please, please let there be someone in the car. My initial excitement fades as I approach the vehicle, finding that it is completely and totally abandoned. The disappointment flooding through me hits like a hurricane, and suddenly my entire body is weak and numb. I yank the door open and climb inside, looking around frantically for a sign that someone, anyone was here. But there is nothing. There aren't any weapons. There isn't any food. A dead walker in the back seat is the only thing that shows that this car has been touched in months. A slow, sinking feeling settles in my stomach and my hands are shaking from frustration. I pull myself from the car and slam the door shut with all of my strength, then sink to my knees in agony. I fold my knees up to my chest and bury my face in my arms.

I need to be around someone. I can't be alone for much longer. I don't know what I will do if I don't find anyone soon. Tears threaten to spill out of my eyes, and I do nothing to stop them. 'No. Cut it out, Awsten,' I scold myself. I need to stop this. I'm too weak. But I'm running low on hope for things to get better and my life isn't going anywhere near uphill. I numbly lift my head and rest it against the side of the car. I don't make any motion to dry my tears, fore I don't see a reason to. I just sit in the silence, doing absolutely nothing. I sniff quietly to myself, going over all of the lost memories in my mind while sulking in my sadness. I feel like just another dead-brain, but I know I'm not. This is ridiculous.

A humming noise begins to break through the silence, slowly getting louder and louder. What is that? It takes me a few more moments before I realize that the sound is coming from a truck farther down the railroad back the way I came from. My mind immediately goes to the fact that it could very likely just be me hallucinating, its not the first time its happened. So even when a truck comes into my line of vision, I don't move. I only bury my face in my arms again and wait for the sound to go away. I can feel the ground begin to rumble just barely as the sound indicates that the truck is right in front of me. The slamming of car doors break me out of my numb state, and I lift my head to wipe away the remainder of my tears away with the edge of my sleeve.  
There are two men standing several feet away, hovering over me. I feel inferior to them, like a young child looking up at a stranger. I'm intimidated by them, yet there aren't doing anything that should scare me. Maybe, just maybe I don't have to be alone anymore.

My eyes meet a pair of light blue ones, then a pair of dark brown ones. They are full of suspicion, unsure of me. The man with brown eyes looks at his friend questioningly.

His friend raises his gun at me, aiming at my head, although I can tell from the fact that his finger isn't on the trigger that he doesn't want to hurt me. "How long have you been out here?" He speaks in a low, serious voice. I look at him, not speaking a word. I don't want to screw this up, so I think for a long time before I open my mouth.

"I lost track a long time ago." My voice comes out rough and raspy, my throat dry from not speaking for so long. He doesn't look away from me, his eyes burning into my soul. "You've been by yourself?" I look down, my chest suddenly hurting. I nod, the slightest movement that I can only hope that he catches. They both sigh sadly, understanding what I mean. From the corner of my eye, I see the man that was talking to me glance at his friend, then nod his head towards me. I lift my head, climbing to my feet slowly with my hands in the air. He pats me down, checking for weapons. When he's done he steps back and speaks up, "You going anywhere? Or from anywhere?"

"No. I've just wandered around the last few months," I reply, trying to sound more confident then I did before. I may be weak, but I don't want then to know that I am. Maybe they have a place. Maybe they know more people. Please, God, let me have this. The men exchange a long glance with each other, as if they were having a conversation with their eyes. My hopes rise and fall as the stare drags on, until his throat and begins, "We have a place an hour or so up the road. We're a community there, and we're almost always open to taking in new people. You don't seem like too bad of a person, you wanna come back with us?" I freeze for a second, unable to comprehend the fact that I'm going to be around people again. Community. That one word keeps replaying in my head as I open my mouth hesitantly, then close it again. I don't know what to say. "Umm. . . Yes. Please," I manage to get out, every word accompanied by stuttering. My heart feels like its going to jump out of my chest and I force tears of joy back. Smiles appear in their faces, and i can't help but to smile back. Smiles appear on their faces, and I can't help but to smile back. The leader holds his hand out politely, waiting for me to grab it.

I've waited so long, so dxmn long to have companions again. I've begged and pleaded on my knees to God for months, asking and asking for him to take away the loneliness. Maybe he finally heard me, oraybe it was just by pure coincidence. It doesn't matter. I'm going to have friends again. Doubt immediately kicks in though, and my excitement fades immediately. Ignore it, Awsten.

I take in one big breath before I reach out, taking his hand in mine. I shake it confidently, and he returns the action.

"Welcome to the saviors."


	2. Chapter 2

We speed down the tracks. "I didn't catch your name," the man says to me, he doesn't take his eyes off of the road. "Uhmm, Awsten," I reply awkwardly. I haven't spoken my name to anyone in a long, long time, and the word is odd to be heard from my mouth. 

"Well, Awsten," He starts. "We were out on a run the last few days looking for supplies. Right now, we're heading towards the Sanctuary. We have a leader, too. His name is Negan. He will probably explain more about the place when we get there. I'm one of his top men so he will probably take you in wihout too much question. Just try not to act suspicious around him, okay?" This guys has a protective vibes radiating off of him, and for the first time in a long time, I feel safe. The guy on the other side of me speaks u, a joking tone settled in his voice, "There's quite a few of us, probably at least a hundred by now, so you'll have to work extra hard if you want to get noticed by the big man."

I don't say a word. I'm too overwhelmed by all of this new information to conjure up a reply. The driver glances at me with a curious tilt of the head. "You don't talk much, do you?" He asks awkwardly. I take a breath before answering, "No, not really. I just, uh, I'm not really used to beng around people anymore, that's all.'

"Well you're going to have to get used to it, like he said, there's a lot of us so you're going to have to get used to being around other groups. Try not to freak out about it, okay?" He replies smoothly. "You can hang around us for your first few days while you get used to everything." For the fifth time in the last hour, my heart beat picks up. It comforts me that I'm not going to be alone in this new place, at least not at first. "Thank you," I mumble, refusing to look at either of them. I just need to calm down; They're good people and they're not going to hurt me. "Yeah, no problem," He replies without missing a beat. "My name is Geoff by the way, he's Otto. I would suggest trying to get on Negan's good side, try to get a good job or something and you'll be treated better than the best. I'm not gonna get into that stuff right now; I'll leave that to whoever you get handed off to when we get there." Geoff finishes his mini monologue in a heart beat, leaving us in awkward silence for a few moments. It's probably for the best, I'm not sure if I'm capable of processing every word that is spoken with the blood pulsing through to my ears. 

The man named Otto speaks up, breaking the absence of sound. "Do you have any questions for us?" He asks. My mind snaps back into place as I realize this question hadn't occurred to me yet somehow. I'm so desperate to find people that I know I would blindly follow anyone, good or bad. And I did exactly so. When I dive deeper into the question, I'm dumbfounded. I really don't know anything about them. I know their names and where their from, but that's it. I don't know any of their history or the things they've done, I just know that they're people and right now that's all that matters. Regardless, I can tell that they aren't going to hurt me, their eyes are too kind for that. "Hmm," I start hesitantly. Do I have any questions for them? "How long has your group been together?" I blurt. 

"Since the very beginning, my dude. Obviously people have came and gone, but the ones that really mattered stayed around." The words spill out from Geoff's mouth casually. How is he always so confident when he speaks? He doesn't even seem to have to think twice before he speaks. Well duh, Awsten, he has friends, I think to myself. Not everyone's lives are as sad as yours. 

I fall back into a daze, contemplating whether I should say anything else; I don't want to say something stupid but I also don't want to stay quiet so they don't think I'm some arrogant idiot who blindly follows command. When I don't continue, I see Geoff glance at me from the corner of his eye, Otto mirroring his action. My internal frustration must be noticeable because Otto nudges me with his elbow and gives me a sympathetic smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, we've picked up tons of guys before who were even more freaked out than you. We get it." Something about the tone of his voice makes my nerves calm down slightly. I sigh breifly, then reply, "Thank you."

The car is quiet and trees flash by as we speed down the tracks, eventually reaching a cement road that leads to a small city. It looks abandoned from the outskirts, but Geoff driving into the town without hesitation leads me to belive that it isn't filled with the dead. My hands fiddle with the zipper of my jacket as I bite my tongue nervously, anticipating our arrival. 

"You see that place up there?" Geoff suddenly asks, gesturing to a large factory building far away that's hovering over the trees lining the horizon. "Mmhm," I hum in response. "That, my new friend, is the Sanctuary," He announces proudly, a smile lighting up his face. I stare in awe at the giant community as we near the lot, slower than I would have liked. My heart beat is in my throat and a feeling of hopefulness washes through me. Walkers line the towering fences surrounding the compound, a unique set of defenses against the living; their heads turn at the sound of our truck. I shift anxiously in my seat. 

"Welcome home, Gloom Boy," Are the words that leave Geoff's mouth as we pull to a stop in front of the gates. Otto turns to me, raising his eyebrows and giving a little chuckle, "Dude, you need to chill. We don't bite, can't say the same about the walkers though." I give a half grin in return to the lighthearted joke, but my mind is elsewhere. The gates are then opened, and our vehicle shifts into motion once again. I feel my adrenaline. I swallow down the sinking feeling in my stomach and silently repeat to myself that I'm a brave person, even though I know it's a lie. 

We come to a stop next to a set of stairs. "C'mon," Geoff mumbles, then in an instant is out of the truck, waiting at the door for me to mimic his action. I climb out, hearing Otto do the same. "We gotta unload some stuff before we go anywhere else so grab some stuff and start moving. Besides, you look like a strong guy," Otto states and plops a crate full of cans into my unsteady hands. Geoff leads us into a small room on the side of the building, and the meek smell of dust and dew invades my nose. Afterwards, I follow them as they approach a set of stairs, clenching then unclenching my sweaty hands, then rub them on my jeans. They're shaking. 

The inside of the building is much cooler than the hot summer air. People are scattered amongst the ground floor, and in stark contrast, the catwalk we're standing on is left bare. The chatter of the workers fill my ears; I watch as goods are exchanged between people on opposite sides of tables. Footsteps are accompanied by Geoff's words, "Let's go pretty boy, I think it's time you meet the man of the hour." I keep my head low as I hurry after him. We enter a dimly lit hallway with a few doors on either side, echoes of the loud exchanges now being turned into quiet conversations, barely audible. We stop at a door at the en of the hall, then Geoff reaches up and knocks on it. A mumbled response is heard from the other side of the wall, granting us permission to come inside. We step inside, and I take a deep breathe. You can do this.

A man with shoulder length blonde hair lifts his eyes from a map and turns his gaze to us. "Aye, didn't know you were back. I was just about to round up some boys and head out. You score anything good this time?" He asks. His voice is rough and low, and if I'm being honest he's kind of intimidating. Is this Negan? "Yeah, a few boxes full, just the normal stuff," Geoff replies calmly. "Is Negan around?"The man stands up and folds the map, then shoves it in his pocket and moves around the table to face us. "Nah, he went with the group to collect the Hilltop's supplies. Anyway, he should be back in a while. Why?"He gives a curious tilt of the head, his eyes landing on me for a moment. I feel my heart sink. "Who's he?" He questions. I bite my lip nervously and resist the urge to run out of the room and go somewhere far, far away. Otto places his hand on my shoulder and says, "Got a new guy, picked him up from the side of the road." The man's gaze is intense, the look of judgement appearing on his face as he observes my appearance, and I avert my eyes from his. No Awsten, that will make you look suspicious, do not do that. I force my self to look up at him, his dark blue eyes meeting my heterochromic ones. I shift uncomfortably under his stare; I can feel my insecurities bubbling up inside of me. Please, just say something already. He turns to Geoff and Otto. "You know that's against the rules." Geoff gives a frustrated huff, accompanied by him saying that he will explain later. After a few more moments of judgmental staring, the man begins making his way towards the door. "Set him up in a room for now," he says, "we'll worry about other stuff later if Negan lets him stay." I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling, but I'm sure my excitement is showing either way. They might let me stay. He meets my eyes again, annoyance laced in his glare. "Don't get comfortable. You better give us a good reason to let you stay, otherwise you're just another mouth to feed." My eyes go to my trembling hands, unable to find the words to respond. He steps closer, so that he is only an intimidating foot away. What is his deal? What did I do to make him dislike me so much? I wish I wasn't so sensitive, but I can't help it. "You're lucky we-"

"That's enough, D," Geoff intercepts. I let out a breathe that I didn't know I was holding, the tension in the room beggining to fade with the comment. I wonder what 'D' stands for; I make a mental note to myself to ask Otto or Geoff later. D sighs, backs away from me, and reaches for the handle of the door. "He'll need to talk to Negan when he gets back." And with that, he wistfully exits the room. 

~~~~~~~

I'm left alone with my thoughts in the cell-like room; it's simple, and almost feels empty. The mattress under me is soft and squeaks a little every time I move; a thin blanket and pillow coat the bed in grey fabric. The single shelf in the room is decorated with a few dusty books scattered amongst it, but for the most part is left bare. Several small rays of sunlight fall through the small window in rows along the stone floor, giving off a warm glow. I breathe in, and breathe out, then allow myself to lay back on my bed. Geoff told me to try and get some rest before Negan arrives, but I don't want his first impression of me to be when I'm a sleepy mess. I close my eyes anyway, but I don't intend on sleeping, I just want to rest my eyes for a little while. My thoughts drift to Geoff and Otto. They seem nice, enough. Even an hour is long enough to know that Geoff is more of the frontman of the two, while Otto is more of his right-hand man. But they both seem independent, clearly capable of surviving on their own if they had to. I wish I was like that, independent, but I'm not, and I don't think I ever will be. I scold myself for being so self-depricating. 'Relax,' I tell myself, 'It's safe here, you can calm down for once.' Usually I'm not so trusting of people, but right now, I feel like I have to.

I wonder what Negan is like. I wonder what kind of leader he is and how he runs this place. I wonder how and why he became the leader. I shouldn't dwell on any of this right now, I'm not even sure if they're letting me stay or not yet. I swallow, then focus on my breathing again. The idea of this place almost seems fake, like it's too perfect. But if things go right with Negan, I just might have a place to call home again, for the first time in a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the first chapter of this in April of 2018. It is now July of 2019 that I am f i n a l l y posting chapter 2.
> 
> So like, this chapter was originally going to be probably somewhere around 2000 more words long, but thats just an estimate. How i do things with stories, is i write them on paper first, then type them when I finish the chapter. The thing is, its hard to type on my phone, and i just recently got a laptop that i can actually type on so thats why i finaly got this done. Anyway, i decided to scrap the rest of this chapter because i didn't like how pretty much all of it worked out. The dialogue was weird, everything was carried out too long, and it all was just written really poorly and i just don't like it. The only thing that might effect the story from here on out even a little bit is some of Awsten's interactions between Geoff because it grew their relationship a little bit, but there's going to be a really big time skip in the next chapter by like 2 years so it doesn't really matter that much. 
> 
> Don't worry, it will probably be another year until i post chapter 3 because i procrastinate(:
> 
> But yeah, so I hope you enjoyed ( even though you prbably didn't because this is garbage) and thank you for reading uwu. also im rewriting the first chapter and chnging a lot about it because its way too rushed and it annoys me. 
> 
> also sorry for the many typos that i know are there, i might go through and fix them some time in the future but that will probably be a long time and i feel accomplished enough just to be finally publishing this in the first place
> 
> plz give feed back
> 
> anyway, see y'all next chapter
> 
> byeeeeeee


	3. Chapter 3

~two years later~

My hands were covered in blue hair dye last night. I found the box stuffed at the back of a convenience store a week before when a group was sent out to look for supplies before our weekly trip to hilltop. My hair couldn't even be considered blue anymore; silver, possibly, but definitely not blue. It's been years since I've dyed it, my natural brown hair has grown out a few inches, leaving only the very ends of it to be colored after my most recent haircut. 

Geoff was the first person to see it afterwards, the first person to touch it, the first person to tell me he liked it. His face lit up the moment his eyes landed on me, and he jumped up from his place on the couch to run his hands through my turquoise locks. It was a surprise to everyone when i walked out of the bathroom and the damaged white tips of my hair were no longer white. The color isn't as vibrant as before. Instead of the vibrant indigo it once was, instead it's now a soft, baby blue. Dark enough to be noticeable but light enough that it's not distracting.

Yesterday, my hands were covered in blue. Today, my hands are covered in red.

The trip back from Hilltop this week was silent. Or maybe I just thought it was silent because I was. Geoff kept an arm around my shoulders the entire way home, but that did little to settle my shaking hands. Red. Red. All there was was red. It was supposed to be a normal pick-up, but next thing I knew someone was shouting, then everyone was shouting, and then guns were drawn. A Hilltopper's body crumples to the ground, screaming in agony as blood poured out of their neck. , I was paralyzed. I couldn't move, not until a savior commanded I drew my gun. My motions were automatic and mindless. Could I shoot someone if they told me to?

I had to help move the body. Why did they have to try and retaliate? After the epidemic, we carried on as usual; we took their supplies, we loaded up the truck, then we went home. Routine.

They aren't allowed to have guns anymore.

Much to Geoff's disapproval, I go straight to my room the moment we arrive. I don't want to worry Geoff, but I need to be alone right now. I close my eyes and rest my forehead in my palms, I can't look at the blood on my hands anymore. I could've done something, I could have tried to stop him. He killed that man in cold blood, no hesitation. No exceptions. Negan's favorite phrase. I hate it. I hate him. 

Some days, I wish they had never brought me in. Some days I wish Geoff and Otto had left me on the side of the road to rot away with the rest of the world. If they had done that, I wouldn't have to be dealing with the guilt swallowing me whole right now. Maybe I would have been dead by now if it wasn't for them. But then I remember I wouldn't have met my best friends if this never happened, and I beat myself up for allowing myself to let my mind drift in that direction in the first place. I pull my knees up to my chest, wrap my crimson covered hands around my legs, and bury my face in my arms. I can't stop the tears from spilling out of my eyes.

~~~~~~~~

Nobody looks at me when I walk out of my room an hour later with bloodshot eyes and messy hair. Nobody except Otto. He approaches me and without warning, and yanks me into hug. I numbly wrap my arms around his neck and bury my head in his shoulder. He knows I don't do well in these types of situations. He knows my fight or flight response will kick in, and that my mind will choose flight. We stay in the embrace for a moment longer before he pulls away and ruffles my hair with his hand. 

"Let's go get something to eat," he says softly, like he's afraid he will startle me if he's too loud. We don't talk much on the way to dining hall. We each grab a sandwich and join Geoff at a table. He looks at me with sad eyes. I don't wanna talk about what happened earlier, I don't even want to think about it. I just look away and eat my meal. Geoff and Otto talk while we eat; I only speak when they address me directly. I look at my hands when I'm done with my food. I missed a spot of blood when I showered earlier. I squeeze my eyes shut.

"What's wrong?" Geoff leans close to whisper.

I open my eyes to look at him, then lay my head on his shoulder before mumbling, "'M pretending I'm somewhere else." I sleepily let out a breathe. He reaches over and gives my arm a pat. He doesn't reply, but his silence is enough of a response. He feels the same as I do. The Sanctuary steals supplies from other groups, hurts their people when uncalled for, and it's wrong. It's wrong but we stay here anyway because we're all too afraid to leave.

~~~~~~~~~

I am no longer going to the Hilltop, and will instead now go to the Kingdom for the weekly trips. I don't object when Dwight tells me the news of this change, I simply nod my head and reply quietly with an, "Okay." Anything to get a change of scenery. If I stare at the gray walls of this factory much longer I am going to go insane.

"I think this will be a good thing," Geoff tells me the next morning on the way there. He sits close to me, our knees touching and our shoulders bumping together when the truck makes turns. I used to hate physical contact, but when its from the people I care about, I feel like it grounds my mind. "Going to the Kingdom, I mean," He continues. "New faces, new scenery, it could be nice. Plus, it might be a good distraction." I know he means well, but I can't help but stiffen at his words. I ignore the unsettling feeling in my gut and nod in response.

It isn't long before we arrive at the meeting spot. At first I'm confused as to why we don't go straight to the community, but then I remember what Dwight told me earlier. They keep these exchanges a secret from their people. It makes sense, that way it prevents things from being more chaotic than they already are, and stops rebellions like what happened at Hilltop from even being considered. 

It's not much different than how it goes at the other community. After all is said and done, we go home. I stay in Geoff's room tonight. It's become a normal routine for me to curl up next to him on the nights I don't want to be alone. It was awkward the first time it happened, when I had a nightmare and he was the only one close enough to wake me up. Afterward, he stayed in my room to make sure I stayed asleep. Ever since, I stay in his room every other day of the week. We fall asleep with his arms around me and my face buried in his neck. These nights are some of the only times I feel safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii. So it only ended up being half a year between updates but at least im finally posting right? 
> 
> I know this isn't really the best fanfic but if you liked it, comments and votes are extremely appreciated!!!!!
> 
> Also prepare yourselves because I'm pretty sure th next chapter is gonna be the season 7 premiere with the Negan line-up so that will be fun
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy<3


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